Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

‘Bills coach Sean McDermott, in a rare peak behind the curtain, confirmed that the Bills are interested in the all-purpose back who was cut Tuesday by the New York Jets, ending a somewhat terrible year-plus with the moribund Jets and coach Adam Gase.’

‘Right now, the Bills defense is not good. Not at all, and that came to light when it got smoked by a team that had barely practiced for two weeks. This once-respected defense has been reeling dating back to the second quarter of the Week 2 victory over Miami, and it finally came back to bite the Bills at Nissan Stadium.’

‘The Tennessee Titans, home to the NFL’s first COVID-19 disaster area, looked like the exact opposite of a team that had hardly practiced as they rolled to a lopsided 42-16 victory over the Bills, the team that looked exactly like it had hardly practiced in two weeks.’

‘Devin Singletary carried 11 times for 25 yards and just doesn’t look like the explosive back we think he is.’

‘And it didn’t stop there. At around 5 p.m., in a surprise development, offensive guard Quinton Spain reported having foot pain to the training staff and he was immediately ruled out for the game. Also inactive are wide receiver John Brown, running back Zack Moss, linebacker Matt Milano, tight end Lee Smith and quarterback Jake Fromm.’

‘My pick: Bills 23, Titans 17.’

‘What prompted the bulk of the schedule modifications was a positive test on a Patriots player. The league quickly postponed the Patriots-Broncos game which had already been moved to Monday, and that will now be played Sunday as part of the Week 6 schedule.’

‘“Talking about consummate professionals, I think at a young age Cody Ford exemplifies (a player) kind of showing up and doing his job,” said center Mitch Morse. “The guys has tjumped from position to position – I know as a rookie he was a tackle – and in the NFL it’s always a tough deal (switching positions) and I thought he handled himself brilliantly. He’s tough as nails.”’

‘“His quickness and his being able to get in and out of breaks, and a lot of people don’t know how smart he is on the football field,” said Poyer, who comes up against Beasley every day in practice and knows of what he speaks. “His ability to read leverages, to read coverages, his ability to find the soft spot in zones, the ability to catch the ball and not take explosive hits. I just say I’m happy as hell he’s on our team.”’

‘If the Titans have any more tests, the game will be postponed to a later date, and the Bills-Chiefs would play in their originally-scheduled Thursday night slot.’

‘Without saying it, McDermott seemed to indicate it might not be wise to send the Bills into a COVID-19 hot zone for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game, though he also made it clear, “That decision is probably not going to be made by Sean McDermott.”’

‘I do, however, believe in routine and – with a nod to Sean McDermott – process. You get into a rhythm during a season and football teams, in particular, balk when that routine and rhythm and process is altered. It’s one of the reasons why everyone hates playing Thursday night games.’

‘And then Sunday at shiny new but eerily empty Allegiant Stadium, the defense did not stop the Raiders from scoring on any of their first four possessions and you started to wonder, what in the name of Bruce Smith is going on out there?’

‘It’s surreal to see the Bills’ pass defense getting shredded the way it has the last couple weeks.’

‘It has become a theme in this 2020 season, but for the fourth week in a row, I believe the Bills are the better team in this matchup. That was obvious against the Jets and Dolphins, not so obvious against the Rams, and this time it’s somewhere in between. The Raiders have talent on both sides, but I don’t think they can match the Bills on either side and they’re missing a few key players, too.’